System and Method for Filtering, Distributing and Routing Sales Leads

ABSTRACT

A system and method of managing leads by filtering, distributing and routing leads to a representative using business intelligence.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a Continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/095,573 filed Apr. 27, 2011, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/328,433 filed on Mar. 27, 2010,the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

In a competitive sales market, many independent sales organizations willcomplete for the same sales “leads”. These leads represent the names andcontact information of individuals or organizations that may beinterested in their products or services. One of the newest and mostpopular forms of sales lead is the “Internet Lead”; these leads comefrom websites offering to give consumers competing quotes from companiesfor the product or service that the customer is interested in. The leadsare then sold to the sales organizations for what is usually a fixed feeand delivered electronically, often via email. One of the first examplesof this model is from lendingtree.com® who offers to give consumerscompeting quotes for loans from up to four banks if they submit anonline financing application. What lendingtree.com and similarorganizations actually do is simply sell all the information collectedto mortgage brokers based on the highest bidder for that consumer'spreferred loan type and geographic location. Another example, in theinsurance industry, is from NetQuote.com®. Its business model isvirtually identical to that of lending tree's, except it deals in leadsfor insurance quotes. There are numerous other entities that provideInternet leads in numerous industries. For a smaller sales organization,it will often buy from one or two lead sources and simply use the onlinetools available to it from those lead providers. It will also usuallyhave its leads delivered by email. Larger organizations may buy from oneor more providers and may also have the leads delivered directly to anin-house data management system, e.g., customer relationship management(CRM), using an Application Programming Interface (API). The actualnetwork protocol or data format for this transmission varies but willcommonly resemble XML posted over HTTP(s). There are several problemswith prior art lead referral systems that receive leads from multiplesources (providers) and distribute them to multiple salesrepresentatives via whatever means possible for follow-up andprosecution of the leads. The term representative as used in thisapplication not only applies to sales representatives, but to anyindividual or entity who uses the lead to follow-up and identifypotential recipients for the goods, services or opportunities beingoffered. The representatives may all be employed by the same entity, ormay be competing against each other. The representatives may beaffiliated with a single provider of the leads or may receive leads frommany different lead providers. The representative may also be a separatesales entity unrelated to the processor or provider of the sales leads.

One problem in prior art systems is the duplication of leads receivedfrom the lead providers. In a competitive industry, many lead providersbuy-and-sell leads amongst themselves and resell them to salesorganizations in accordance with existing contracts. While theirinternal exchange protocols make every effort to prevent the selling ofduplicated leads to a single sales organization or to multipleindependent “agents” of a single parent organization, the prior artsystems are imperfect and duplication is commonplace.

Another problem is the identification of “bad” leads. It's not uncommonfor individuals to volunteer false information on these “get a quote”websites, hoping simply to receive an automated and impersonal quoteresponse. This supplying of false information results in “bad leads”which are unusable to an actual salesperson to follow-upon. Prior artsystems do not adequately identify bad leads.

Another problem with prior art systems is the identification of unwantedleads. While most lead provider request certain criteria and “profile”information from the sales organizations when activating their account,this information is often generic and not specifically tailored to theindividual clients needs. This results in the sales organizationreceiving and being charged for leads they don't actually want.

For example an insurance agent may desire to only provide quotes todrivers with very clean driving records. However, the lead provider maynot be able to identify drivers who are unsuitable, e.g., drivers withmultiple DUIs. Thus, while the name and contact information on a leadsmay be correct, the lead is of no use to the agent as he/she cannot givethis individual a quote or gain any business from it.

Yet another common problem for larger organizations is the distributionof leads identifying existing customers. This is especially problematicin organizations with independent contractor sales representatives whoreceive ongoing commissions for maintaining customer relationships.Continuing with the insurance company example, “Big Mutual Insurance”needs a way to ensure that if it purchases a lead that is already apolicy holder, it can route that lead to the independent agent whomanages that policy or it may be in violation of that agent's contractfor sending her client to competing agent.

Another problem is the fair distribution of the leads in the salesorganization. When a large company wants to purchase leads anddistribute them to their independent representative, it must firstidentify which representatives may be eligible to receive the lead. Theprocess of identifying eligible sales representatives is multi-facetedand typically has been handled manually in prior art systems. Inaddition, once the eligible representatives are identified, prior artsystems do not provide an automated solution for fairly distributing theleads among the eligible representatives.

Prior art systems do not provide a comprehensive solution that addresseseach of the problems identified above. There are some individualcomponents that are directed to some of the problems above, but they arenot specifically tailored to the entire Internet lead life cycle fromgeneration through filtering, distribution and routing as described inthe present application.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to a Filter-Distribution-Routing(FDR) solution for leads that addresses each of the problems identifiedabove. It provides a full pipeline process consisting of four stagesthat allows a sales organizing to manage the inbound and outbound flowof its leads, control costs, and limit exposure to liabilities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top level flow chart of one embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to FIG. 1, the 1^(st) stage is for the leads to bereceived by the system into the “entry point” 100. This may happen inmultiple ways but they are typically electric data-transmission from thelead providers 105. The most common commercial use will be for an XMLdata document containing the lead information to be posted to the FDRsystem by the provider(s) over the HTTPS secure protocol. Other commonmethods include; scraping provider emails, SOAP Web Services, FTP offiles with pre-arranged format.

The lead providers 105 are normally provided with some guidelines forwhich the leads should qualify in order that only relevant sales leadsare provided. However, in practice, the ability of the lead providers tosatisfy such guidelines is inadequate. The present disclosure uses adynamic filtering process to select appropriate criteria to validate theleads received from the provider. The 2^(nd) stage is to filter theleads 110 based on the data received from the provider in the first step100 using the criteria that has been established by the salesorganization for the type of particular lead received. A common filterset for an insurance lead (for example) would check: street addresscorrectness, email deliverability, phone number (area+prefix), presenceof one or more insurable drivers (based on underwriting criteria) andpresence of one or more insurable vehicles (also based on underwritingcriteria). The actual criteria are flexible and based on the “nodes” ofdata provided and the acceptable value ranged defined for a particulartype of lead. For example, a lead can be classified by type of lead, andthe predetermined criteria can be selected as a function of theclassification of the lead. For example, criteria for a lead for amortgage loan may include street address correctness, emaildeliverability, phone number (area+prefix), property address subject tothe mortgage, occupation and income range of the mortgage applicant. Foran employment application, the predetermined criteria may include streetaddress correctness, email deliverability, phone number (area+prefix),type of employment, geographical location of potential employment,desired position, desired salary range and desired employment hours.Each lead can then be scored for compliance with the selectedpredetermined criteria, and each lead whose cumulative score does notexceed some predetermined threshold can be rejected. For example,address and phone numbers can be matched to national databases todetermine validity. E-mail addresses can be monitored and checked to seeif they are operational. Standard data-hygiene processes are also put inplace to validate and correct issues with names, address, phone numbers,etc. The criteria and the thresholds to be used can be predetermined andcan be selectable. In one embodiment, the criteria evaluated and thethreshold may be selected based on historical analysis of previouslyreceived leads. A failure of the lead to meet minimum criteria at thisstage will result in the lead being “rejected”. By way of example, eachtype of lead may identify required fields of information. For each fieldthat includes the required information a score can be incremented forthe lead such that leads containing more required information is scoredhigher than a lead having less required information.

The selectable criteria can also incorporate business rules. In oneembodiment, software script written in a programming language, such asPython, can be used to evaluate a lead for business rule validation. Forexample, if an insurance provider is seeking potential automobilecustomers with less than stellar driving records, a script can bewritten which validates leads for drivers having not more than twodriving under the influence (DUI) infractions. By way of anotherexample, software script based criteria can be used to identifypotential parking permits for a customer within a predefined distancefrom a geographic location and within a predefined price range.

Another predetermined criteria can be used to filter leads thatrepresent existing customers or identify potential recipients of goodsor services that have a preexisting relationship with the provider forgoods or services. In one embodiment, a memory device identifyingexisting clients or existing relationships can be used to filter leadsto minimize interference with these pre-existing relationships.

However, identification of a rejected lead is only one aspect of thedisclosure. It is also important that a mechanism exists so that thelead provider does not receive compensation for a rejected lead. In oneembodiment, a message flows back up the pipeline 115 to the leadprovider 105 informing them that the sales organization is notinterested in the rejected lead and should not be billed for it. If thelead passes the filtering stage, it moves on to the next stage in thepipeline.

The 3^(rd) stage is to distribute the lead to a sales representative or“agent” 120. This step may be bypassed if the provider specifies theintended recipient in the posted data; however, this is often not thecase for large organizations with volume 20. This step may be bypassedif the provider specifies the intended recipient in the posted data;however, this is often not the case for large organizations with volumepurchase programs. The process of distribution is two-fold;identification of qualified representatives and fair allocation of theleads to the qualified representatives. First, the system uses the dataprovided on the lead and the information contained in its “agentdatabase” 125 (the format or storage medium of this database isirrelevant so long as it's electronic and queryable) to identify a listof one or more agents who qualify to receive the lead. In oneembodiment, qualification can be determined by geographic region,product/line of business, licensing of the agent, and individualpreferences including quantity limits. An example would be a lead for afire insurance quote on a Spanish speaking man from Southern California.In order to qualify to receive this lead, the following criteria may beused: the agent must have an office in southern California, (within 30miles of the applicant), be licensed to sell fire insurance inCalifornia and must speak Spanish or have a licensed staff person whodoes. Any agent not meeting this criteria or those that meet thecriteria but are over their defined daily or weekly maximum (othermaximum are also possible) would be excluded. In one embodiment,compliance with this criteria can be scored and all representativeswhose cumulative score exceeds a predetermined threshold can be deemedto be “qualified” to receive the lead. If no representatives are deemedto be qualified, then the lead may be “rejected.” In such a case, amessage flows back up the pipeline 128 and to the provider informingthem that the sales organization is not interested in this lead andshould not be billed for it. The criteria can be predetermined and beselectable as a function of the type of lead.

After one or more qualifying representatives are identified, then thesystem will proceed to phase two of distribution where the leads aredistributed to the representatives “fairly”. Common distributionimplementations can include round-robin, fewest leads received,most-likely to-sell or similar algorithms. The most likely to sellalgorithm can be based on historical performance of the qualifiedrepresentatives. Multiple methods are supported and the process isflexible as how exactly the recipient is chosen. In one embodiment thedistribution is based on the “fewest leads received” with the qualifiedrepresentatives being dynamically ranked in order of number of leadsreceived with the fewest leads moving up to the top of the ranking. Inanother embodiment, the agents may be ranked according to dynamiccriteria, time since received last lead.

After the qualified representative is selected to receive a lead, therelevant “representative identification” may be tagged onto the packageof data containing the sale lead which will then be routed to theselected representative in the next stage. Other information as well canbe appended to the lead data to facilitate routing and delivery of thelead. In one embodiment, the identification of a specific CRM system fora representative can be identified to facilitate automated processing ofthe lead by the representative. In another embodiment, informationrelated to the quality of the lead can be provided with the lead. Forexample, if the leads have an associated score presenting the level ofcompliance with the predetermined criteria, the score of the lead can beprovided with the lead as an indication of the quality of the lead. Therouting algorithm can address leads for a single representative todifferent addresses based on this quality score so that differentprocesses can be performed for the lead as a function of quality. Inanother embodiment language information can included with a lead toindicate the spoken language of the potential customer which can be usedto route the lead according to a language specific protocol.

The routing stage 130 determines which methods of delivery are availableto get the lead to the selected qualified representative. The lead canbe delivered based on system availability and identified criteria. Thelead can be routed to the representative individually (e.g., via e-mail)or can be routed to a processing system for automatic follow-up with thepotential lead.

For example, an insurance agent receiving a fire insurance lead(described in stage 3) can receive leads via e-mail or a direct push tohis company CRM system. In one embodiment, he may also have anafter-hours calling service that automatically takes his leads and callsthem outside of business hours. The system will see that this lead camein during business hours so it will not deliver it to the after-hourscalling service. In one embodiment, it may try sending the lead forpredetermined number of attempts or for a predetermined period of time.The lead can be sent directly to the CRM system or the agent's e-mail.The system may have primary and alternate routing means so that therouting system will always try find at least one way to deliver the leadand does not cause leads to be “rejected” back to the provider.

The use of a CRM system allows the generation of customizable reportsand the tracking of leads. The tracking of leads can provide historicalinformation which can then be used to establish criteria andpredetermined thresholds to validate leads and qualify representatives.

Thus, unlike prior art systems, the present disclosure interfaces thefiltering, distributing and routing of leads using business intelligenceto maximize the potential success of generating business form the leads.In addition, unlike prior art systems which provide a “garbage-ingarbage out” processing scheme, the present disclosure enhance the valueof a lead through dynamic filtering can append additional information tothe lead to facilitate efficient distribution and routing of the lead.

It may be emphasized that the above-described embodiments, particularlyany “preferred” embodiments, are merely possible examples ofimplementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of theprinciples of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may bemade to the above-described embodiments of the disclosure withoutdeparting substantially from the spirit and principles of thedisclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to beincluded herein within the scope of this disclosure and the presentdisclosure and protected by the following claims Embodiments of thesubject matter and the functional operations described in thisspecification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or incomputer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structuresdisclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or incombinations of one or more of them. Embodiments of the subject matterdescribed in this specification can be implemented as one or morecomputer program products, i.e., one or more modules of computer programinstructions encoded on a tangible program carrier for execution by, orto control the operation of, data processing apparatus. The tangibleprogram carrier can be a computer readable medium. The computer readablemedium can be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readablestorage substrate, a memory device, or a combination of one or more ofthem.

The term “processor” encompasses all apparatus, devices, and machinesfor processing data, including by way of example a programmableprocessor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers. Theprocessor can include, in addition to hardware, code that creates anexecution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., codethat constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a databasemanagement system, an operating system, or a combination of one or moreof them.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, or declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astandalone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unitsuitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program does notnecessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program can bestored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g.,one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a singlefile dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinatedfiles (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub programs, orportions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed onone computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site ordistributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communicationnetwork.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform functions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andany one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read only memory ora random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for performing instructions and one or more memory devicesfor storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will alsoinclude, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer datato, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g.,magnetic, magneto optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computerneed not have such devices. Moreover, a computer can be embedded inanother device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a mobile audio or video player, a game console, a GlobalPositioning System (GPS) receiver, to name just a few.

Computer readable media suitable for storing computer programinstructions and data include all forms of non volatile memory, mediaand memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memorydevices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks,e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto optical disks; andCD ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory can besupplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subjectmatter described in this specification can be implemented on a computerhaving a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquidcrystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and akeyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by whichthe user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices canbe used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example,input from the user can be received in any form, including acoustic,speech, or tactile input.

Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can beimplemented in a computing system that includes a back end component,e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g.,an application server, or that includes a front end component, e.g., aclient computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browserthrough which a user can interact with an implementation of the subjectmatter described is this specification, or any combination of one ormore such back end, middleware, or front end components. The componentsof the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digitaldata communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a widearea network (“WAN”), e.g., the Internet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

While this specification contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of any invention or of what may beclaimed, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific toparticular embodiments of particular inventions. Certain features thatare described in this specification in the context of separateembodiments can also be implemented in combination in a singleembodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in thecontext of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multipleembodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the embodiments described above should not be understoodas requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should beunderstood that the described program components and systems cangenerally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

1. A method of managing leads, comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a plurality of leads; (b) classifying each lead by type; (c) selecting a first criteria as a function of the classification of the lead; (d) comparing each lead against the selected criteria and assigning a score to the lead as a function of compliance of the lead with the first criteria; (e) accepting a lead if the lead score exceeds a first predetermined threshold; (f) accessing a memory device identifying available representatives; (g) selecting a second criteria as a function of the accepted lead; (h) comparing an available representative against the second criteria and assigning a score to the representative as a function of compliance of the available representative with the second criteria; (i) qualifying a representative if the representative score exceeds a second predetermined threshold; (j) selecting one of a plurality of qualified representatives as a function of a distribution algorithm; and (k) distributing the accepted lead to the selected representative.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the type of lead includes at least one of insurance, consumer loan, mortgage loan, housing rental or parking permit.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first criteria includes at least one of a valid home address, a valid telephone number and a valid e-mail address.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the second criteria include at least one of language spoken, geographic area, and representative's license.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the first predetermined threshold is based on historical information.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the second predetermined threshold is based on historical information.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the distribution algorithm is at least one of round-robin, fewest leads received, and most-likely to-sell.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of distributing includes electronic transmission of the lead to the selected representative.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of selecting includes appending an identifier associated with the selected representative to the lead.
 10. A method of managing leads, comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a plurality of internet leads; (b) filtering each internet lead by comparing each lead against a first predetermined criteria and accepting a lead as a function of compliance of the lead with the first criteria; (c) identifying a plurality of representatives qualified to receive each accepted lead as a function of a second predetermined criteria; (d) selecting one of the identified representatives to receive the accepted lead as a function of a third predetermined criteria; (e) associating an identifier with the accepted lead as a function of the selected representative; and (f) electronically transmitting the accepted lead to the selected representative using the associated identifier.
 11. The method of claim 10 wherein the first predetermined criteria is selectable based on the type of lead.
 12. The method of claim 10 wherein the second predetermined criteria is selectable based on the skills of the plurality of representatives.
 13. The method of claim 10 wherein the third predetermined criteria is selectable based on evenly distributing leads to a plurality of representatives.
 14. The method of claim 10 wherein the associated identifier includes at least one of an e-mail address, an Internet Protocol address, a text address and an identifier associated with a CRM system.
 15. A computer program for the managing leads, the computer program comprising: a computer usable medium having computer readable program code modules embodied in said medium for managing leads; a computer readable first program code module for receiving a plurality of internet leads; a computer readable second program code module for filtering each internet lead by comparing each lead against a first predetermined criteria and accepting a lead as a function of compliance of the lead with the first criteria; a computer readable third program code module for identifying a plurality of representatives qualified to receive each accepted lead as a function of a second predetermined criteria; a computer readable fourth program code module for selecting one of the identified representatives to receive the accepted lead as a function of a third predetermined criteria; a computer readable fifth program code module for associating an identifier with the accepted lead as a function of the selected representative; and a computer readable sixth program code module for electronically transmitting the accepted lead to the selected representative using the associated identifier.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein the first predetermined criteria is selectable based on the type of lead.
 17. The method of claim 15 wherein the second predetermined criteria is selectable based on the skills of the plurality of representatives.
 18. The method of claim 15 wherein the third predetermined criteria is selectable based on evenly distributing leads to a plurality of representatives.
 19. The method of claim 15 wherein the associated identifier includes at least one of an e-mail address, an Internet Protocol address, a text address and an identifier associated with a CRM system.
 20. The method of claim 15 wherein the lead relates to at least one of insurance, consumer loan, mortgage loan, housing rental and a parking permit. 